1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a type of semiconductor waveguide device. In particular, the present invention relates to a hollow semiconductor optical waveguide device and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern high-speed communications systems are increasingly using optical waveguides including optical fiber for transmitting and receiving broadband data. The properties of the optical waveguides made from optical fiber with respect to flexibility and ease of handling and installation are driving forces for their implementation in broadband applications, short-haul data transmission applications such as fiber to the home, local area networks (LAN), high frequency interconnects, industrial diagnostic, and consumer entertainment systems. Such conventional waveguide structures however suffer the fundamental limitations associated with light propagation through solids such as dispersion, absorption, scattering, and nonlinear effects.
Metallic hollow waveguides have been attempted. But they may suffer strong absorption loss in the high-frequency electromagnetic wave. This behavior restricts them to for low-frequencies applications. Therefore, their uses are limited because most high-speed broadband communication systems operate in high-frequency modes.
One method of apply dielectric coating on hollow waveguide air channel is found in a technology called Antiresonant Reflecting Optical Waveguide (ARROW). U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,570 discloses a semiconductor laser device having an ARROW structure; the ARROW structure confines light in an air channel region; it includes air channel regions having a low effective refractive index, and other regions having a high equivalent refractive index. The first refractive index regions function as reflectors, and the lower refractive index regions suppress leakage of light. Thus, the semiconductor laser device can be controlled so as to operate as an optical waveguide. The ARROW technology corresponding to the above patent has a structure which requires a regrowth technique. According to the structure, InGaP, InAlP, or GaAs layers are exposed at the surface as a base layer of the regrowth at the time of the regrowth. Therefore, P-As interdiffusion occurs at the exposed surface during a process of raising temperature for the regrowth, and thus the regrowth is likely to become defective. As a result, the above semiconductor laser element is not practicable.